As told by Jeff Danko (Facebook)
If I hadn’t witnessed it for myself, I’m not sure I would believe what you’re about to read . . . this is one of the most horrific situations I’ve experienced.
Daniel Zagazeta and I planned a day at the beach yesterday. After driving to Asbury Park Beach NJ; we were turned away since a very limited number of day passes can be purchased; all sold out by 9:00 AM. So we decide to go to Belmar Beach about 15 minutes away. A perfect beach day – 95 degrees, blue skies, and cool ocean water. We were there for about 2 hours; catching up, swimming, relaxing, commenting on people’s adherence to the social distancing, enjoying what felt like a normal summer day.
“HELP”, we hear someone call out, maybe 15 feet behind us; followed immediately by another “Help”; then like wildfire – “Help”; “Call 911”; “Lifeguards” . . . a panic begins. We both jumped up to help, while at the same time trying to figure out what is happening? We head towards a mound of sand and as we get closer, there’s two young men digging frantically while standing in a hole < 3 feet deep. Then two more men jump in digging as fast as they can around a child’s hand and wrist barely sticking up above the sand. As I’m about to jump in, two other guys dive in and the small hand suddenly slips deeper into the ground.
What had happened is a 10 year old boy was playing; digging a hole in the sand . . . An arms reach from his mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousins. The family is at least 150 feet back from the water. As he’s digging < 3 feet, he hits a large pocket/sink hole/quick sand, and just like that, he vanishes, swallowed by the earth.
“SHOVELS, get shovels” yell the lifeguards, who are now all in the hole digging. It’s now been more than 5 minutes; and no one can can figure out where or how deep into the earth this child is. The crowd gets larger by the second, as people dig frantically in all areas next to the hole trying to tunnel into the vicinity.
“Allah, please not my son, please not my son”! It’s the voice of the boy’s father, running into the ocean and dropping to his knees begging God for his son’s life. His mother is looking down on the lifeguards digging, screaming hysterically by the second. The police arrive to the scene with shovels, clearing the area, pushing back a crowd of now more than 100 people, while getting all the lifeguards out of the hole dug deeper and deeper. No further sign of this child. It’s been over 10 minutes.
I stand completely frozen – two girls nearby kneel to pray. Daniel wishes to go because he just can’t bare seeing the image of a child pulled from the ground. It’s now been over 12 minutes.
So a policeman; holding on the ankles of another policeman makes contact with the boy. “Water, get water” is heard by the police and paramedics. They found him! They carefully secure and pull him out of the ground. “He’s still breathing” someone yells.
It’s now just under 15 minutes, most people are either gasping, crying, hysterical, frozen, praying or silent. Finally, as the boys being carried to the ambulance, he lifts his head looking on to the crowd. When the public see’s that he’s conscious and responsive, everyone begins to clap and cheer loud (and louder AND LOUDER) for the boy, his family, the lifeguards, the police, the paramedics.
This was the first miracle that I’ve experienced. I’ll never know how this child survived being submerged in sand and water for more than 15 minutes. Above ALL else, this child’s life was the only thing that mattered for more the 100+ people that stood by. It comforts me, in hindsight, of the humanity, the teamwork, the prayer. It was 15 minutes without division, race, politics, religion, pandemic . . . just this precious life of a child.
